Hacker News Reader

Comment by serg_chernata | Hacker News Reader

> Now that you mention it, I'm not sure I want to employ someone who uses their creative energy for anything except the company's business.

I don't think I'll ever understand that attitude. If you're a founder, the business just may be the work of your life. To expect the same level of dedication and obsession from your employees is utterly obscene.

If you're lucky enough to find someone who genuinely feels that way, great. But to expect or even demand it should never be the case.

View on HN

Any company that expects you to work long hours, which is majority of SV startups, is exactly like that.

Put less brusquely, though, it sounds like what most early-stage startups (fairly) expect. At that stage, working long hours is usually part of the deal, and you're probably getting big equity and a substantial chunk of their last round. It would be a little weird if you had hours of free time for personal hacking after that.

This line of thinking is I fathomable to me. You do realize that you'd probably have better chances pulling a slot machine handle for a big payout than expecting an early-employee stock package that means anything to a non unicorn.

Long hours is not the same as owning me.

Would it be weird if you liked to play guitar for 20 or 30 minutes in the evenings while employed by a startup?

Because that would go against "using any and all your creative energy towards the business of the company"

depending on what you signed, you can totally play guitar without an ounce of creative energy. It just won't be fun.

...and this is why I categorically refuse to work for an early-stage startup and why I despise startup culture. I have no desire to ever work for a company with fewer than 500 employees ever again (yes, I worked for an abusive startup in the past; I'll not be burned again).

Early stage startups are definitely not for everyone. If you're not prepared for the long hours, etc..., then it probably won't be a good fit, and you're likely going to be miserable there no matter what.

There's nothing wrong with people who don't like Star Trek, but they're not going to have a very good time at the convention.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com